30/12/2022
Curious as to why our supplements are so effective?!
Because we have the best whole food ingredients that’s why!
Whole food vs synthetic supplements - so what’s the deal you ask?!
In a society that has become saturated with nutritionally lacking processed food and soil that is being deplete from trace minerals, we understand the importance of thoughtful supplementation.
But here is the catch - not all supplements are created equal.
Despite the mainstream supplement industry doing a fantastic job marketing the value of synthetic vitamins - whole food & synthetic supplements are NOT the same.
Ascorbic acid is NOT vitamin C, folic acid is NOT folate, calcitriol is NOT vitamin D, retinoid acid is NOT vitamin A, alpha tocopherol is NOT vitamin E…you get the picture!
We have been led to believe they are one in the same but synthetic vitamins are not analogous to the natural whole food sources and can, over time, harm your body.
So what is a vitamin exactly? They are actually very complex molecules consisting of phytonutrients, enzymes, co-factors, antioxidants, trace minerals and in some vitamins, lipids. All of these pieces are necessary for their activity. They cannot be isolated from their complexes and still perform their desired function in the body. It makes sense then, that synthesized “vitamins” are actually missing all of the supporting pieces to make them bio-active in the body.
Take vitamin C for example. The synthetic version, ascorbic acid, is an isolate, a portion of vitamin C but only one part. If parts are missing there will be no vitamin activity in the body and the body will draw upon its own stores to make up the difference and create the whole vitamin complex. Over time this can lead to mineral depletion.
Besides mineral depletion, synthetic vitamins pose other issues. They are often ingested in mega-doses and because they don’t contain the entire complex, they will often be stored in the body, such as in the liver, until they can be processed with the right nutrients. In the mean time they can build up and become toxic. They are hard on our kidneys to excrete. Studies have shown synthetic vitamins can trigger an immune response, elevate white blood cells and have even tied them to an increased risk of cancer.
Complete vitamins from whole food sources are properly recognized, processed and excreted from the body when not required. In cases where they are stored, it’s in the right part of the body and usually just in small amounts as ideally we are ingesting them daily.
We have been led to believe that because synthetic and natural vitamins are virtually identical in chemical structure (of one isolated part) the body metabolizes them the same. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. According to many studies they are not as absorbable, bio-available or recognizable. Your body can tell and it isn’t looking for synthetic vitamins.
Unfortunately synthetic vitamins are much less costly to make, can be made in vast quantities, packed into small tablets, can be added to foods in large amounts and are usually more stable. As the supplement industry is largely unregulated, there is very little accountability when it comes to labelling and marketing supplements. Synthetic vitamins can call themselves “natural” as they are almost identical to the ones found in food. It’s no wonder there is so much confusion around what makes a good supplement and how to choose!
One tip is to look for the names of foods listed as the vitamin source. If a vitamin is synthetic it will likely only have the chemical or popular name listed with no plant source.
